Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore spoke for free at an event to mark an end to Ontario’s use of coal, the organizer of the event says.
Gore reportedly commands a fee of around $150,000 for speaking engagements.
However a spokesperson for Environmental Defence, the group that organized Thursday’s announcement, confirmed to cp24.com Friday that Gore did not charge a speaking fee for the event.
“About six months ago knowing that the coal closure would be coming this fall, I had reached out to his staff,” said Gillian McEachern, campaigns manager for Environmental Defence. “They were interested because they work on these issues and do a lot of work in the U.S. on climate change. From there we kind of kept in touch.”
Gore was apparently in town for a separate event earlier in the day and his staff were able to confirm his attendance at the coal event several weeks ago, McEachern said.
Speaking for approximately 20 minutes, the former vice-president-turned climate activist took the stage at the MaRS Centre after Premier Kathleen Wynne and praised the province for ending its use of coal power and moving further with an announcement the province will introduce legislation to ban coal as an energy source.
“I want to say on behalf of all those around the world who understand the nature of the climate challenge and the opportunity it presents – thank you, you’re doing a fantastic job and we appreciate it,” Gore said, turning to Wynne.
If the legislation proposed by Wynne passes, Ontario will become the first regional jurisdiction in North America to ban coal.
Gore also spoke about a pattern of environmental anomalies from around the world he said should have people concerned about climate change.
In particular, he mentioned the devastating typhoon that recently struck the Philippines, which could be one of the largest to ever make landfall. Gore said the event was “beyond any norms ever seen.”
He also listed the unprecedented flooding that hit Toronto earlier this year as yet another example of the climate change sweeping the globe.
Gore’s Oscar-winning 2006 documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” put him on the map as a major voice for climate change activism.
McEachern said having Gore at the event helped highlight the significance of Ontario ending its dependence on coal.
“It was really helpful because in Ontario the coal phase-out has been talked about for a long time now,” McEachern said. “We were worried that the significance of it had been lost. We really wanted to make sure there was a way to mark it and I think having former vice-president Gore here helped create that moment.”
She said the group also hopes Gore’s presence will help other jurisdictions see that ending coal is a viable option.
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